Israeli airstrike hits UNRWA building in Gaza Strip

The Israeli military allegedly targeted a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in the central region of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, claiming it was a military command center used by Hamas.

Israeli soldiers reportedly bombed the UNRWA-owned facility in Gaza, alleging it was being used by Hamas as a military command center, according to a report on Israel's public television station KAN.

Apart from the attack on the UNRWA headquarters, Israeli airplanes also attacked two schools that were sheltering displaced families, killing several.

This episode fits within a larger trend of hostilities between Hamas and Israel. Prior to this, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini claimed that he had been barred from accessing the region by Israeli officials after his visa application was turned down twice.

The new uptick in violence comes after a sequence of events that started on Oct. 7, 2023, when the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, launched a full-scale offensive on Israel, alleging ongoing breaches against Palestinians and holy sites, such as the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

1,200 Israelis were killed and 5,132 injured in the Oct. 7 assaults, according to IDF.

At least 34,683 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli bombings on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. Among them were 9,849 women and 14,944 children. A further 78,018 people have been injured.

The humanitarian situation has been made worse by reports that thousands of people are still buried under the debris and that educational and medical facilities have also been damaged.

According to the Israeli military, 608 soldiers have died since the offensive started on Oct. 7, with 264 of those deaths occurring during ground operations.

On Nov. 24, 2023, a humanitarian truce was proclaimed amid the fighting and was later extended by an additional three days. As part of a prisoner exchange, 240 Palestinians and 81 Israelis were freed at this time.

Source: AA